Israeli forces have targeted two United Nations facilities as part of their crackdown on the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. On Tuesday, crews bulldozed the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's offices in Sheikh Jarrah and fired tear gas at a vocational school in Qalandia. The agency's West Bank director, Roland Friedrich, said this marks the culmination of two years of measures against UNRWA in east Jerusalem. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the demolition enforced a new law banning UNRWA, claiming the agency has ties with militant groups. The U.N. has denied these claims. Israel has long claimed the agency has an anti-Israel bias, often with little evidence.
Israel's prime minister has met with top security officials to assess a rising tide of Israeli settler violence in the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces increasing U.S. pressure to halt the flare-up that could undermine Washington's peace plan for Gaza. An Israeli official said Friday Netanyahu convened his security cabinet to discuss the recent spike in violence. The meeting took place as fresh allegations surface of Israeli settlers hurling rocks from an overpass at Palestinian vehicles passing below while a scrapyard was set ablaze in the West Bank village of Huwara. Washington is hoping Israel can contain the rising settler violence to avoid jeopardizing the U.N. Security Council-approved U.S. plan for Gaza.
